Advocates Concerned About Increase In NC Child Deaths

RALEIGH, N.C. -- North Carolina child safety advocates are concerned about a recent increase in deaths among some tweens and middle-school children. The state's Child Fatality Task Force received a report Monday from government statistics showing the number of deaths of 10- to 14-year-olds rose last year from many causes, including motor vehicle crashes, homicides and suicide.

Task force executive director Elizabeth Hudgins says it's not clear why violent deaths are occurring more among this age group, and other task force speakers said Monday suicide is a complex issue.

Rates of infant mortality and overall child mortality both rose slightly in 2012 compared with the year before, but those at the meeting said the increases were not statistically significant.Both rates overall have gone down substantially since the 1980s.